Should You Claim Cancelled Flight Compensation Yourself or Use a Service?

Your flight is. The gate area is a sea of frustration, and the airline’s customer service line is a mile long.the DIY route or hiring a specialized claims service. Both have their merits, and the best choice depends on your time, patience, and the complexity of your case.

Let’s break down the pros and cons so you can decide which path is right for you.

The DIY Approach: Claiming It Yourself

This involves you, the passenger, directly contacting the airline to submit a claim for compensation and any additional expenses (like meals and accommodation).

Pros:

• It’s Free: You keep 100% of the compensation you receive. There are no fees or commissions to pay.
• Direct Control: You manage the entire process, ensuring all communication and documentation is to your standard.
• Faster for Simple Cases? For straightforward cancellations where the airline’s liability is clear, you might be able to resolve it quickly if you reach a cooperative agent.
• Educational: Successfully navigating the process yourself is empowering and gives you the knowledge to handle future disruptions.

Cons:

• Time-Consuming: You’ll spend hours researching your rights, filling out forms, gathering documents (boarding passes, booking confirmation, cancellation notices), and crafting emails.
• The Runaround: Airlines often reject valid claims initially, hoping you’ll give up. You may face a wall of generic responses and be forced to send multiple follow-ups.
• Complexity and Legalese: Airline regulations can be complicated. Determining if the cancellation was due to “extraordinary circumstances” (like severe weather or a strike) which exempts them from paying, can be tricky. Airlines may use this as a blanket excuse.
• Higher Chance of Giving Up: The frustration and time commitment lead many people to abandon their claim, leaving money on the table.

Best For: Individuals who are detail-oriented, have spare time, and are dealing with a clear-cut cancellation that was unequivocally the airline’s fault (e.g., crew scheduling issues, maintenance problems).

Using a Claims Service: The “No Win, No Fee” Experts

Companies like AirHelp, ClaimCompass, and others specialize in claiming compensation on your behalf. Their business model is typically “no win, no fee,” meaning they only get paid if they successfully get you paid.

Pros:

• Hassle-Free: This is the biggest advantage. You simply provide your flight details and documents, and they handle everything else. It’s a huge time-saver.
• Expert Knowledge: These services are experts in passenger rights law. They know exactly how to counter an airline’s “extraordinary circumstances” argument and which laws apply to your specific situation.
• Higher Success Rate: Due to their expertise and persistence, they often have a higher success rate than individuals going it alone. They aren’t intimidated by airline pushback and are prepared to escalate to a national enforcement body or court if necessary.
• No Financial Risk: The “no win, no fee” model means if they don’t win your case, you owe nothing.

Cons:

• They Take a Commission: This is the trade-off for their service. Commissions typically range from 25% to 35% of the total compensation amount. If you’re owed €400, you might receive €280 after the fee.
• Less Control: You are entrusting the entire process to a third party. Communication with the airline goes through them.
• Can Be Slower: These services handle thousands of claims, so the process may not be as fast as a perfectly executed DIY claim (though it’s almost certainly faster than a DIY claim that gets stuck).
• Check Their Policy: Ensure you understand their terms, especially regarding data privacy and what happens if you want to cancel your claim mid-process.

Best For: Passengers who are short on time, want a hands-off experience, have a potentially complex case, or have already tried and failed with the airline themselves.

The Verdict: Which Should You Choose?

Consider this flowchart to help you decide:

1. Do you value your time more than the commission fee?
   • Yes → Use a Service. Your time and peace of mind are valuable. Paying a commission to avoid the hassle is a perfectly reasonable trade-off.
2. • No → Consider the DIY route.
3. Is your case straightforward?
   • Yes, and you’re confident → Go DIY. If the flight was undoubtedly cancelled due to the airline’s fault and you have all your documents, it’s worth a try yourself first.
   • No, it’s complex or the airline is resisting → Use a Service. Their expertise is worth the fee in these situations.

1. Have you already tried and failed?
   • Yes → Definitely use a Service. If the airline has already rejected your claim, it’s time to bring in the professionals.

A Hybrid Strategy: The Best of Both Worlds?

Many seasoned travelers adopt a two-step approach:

1. Start with a DIY claim. Submit a well-documented claim to the airline yourself. This costs you nothing but time.
2. If you get rejected or ignored, escalate to a service. If the airline denies your valid claim or doesn’t respond within a few weeks, you can then hand it over to a claims company. You’ve lost nothing, and the service now has a clear case of the airline’s non-compliance to work with.

Final Boarding Call

There is no single right answer, but there is a right answer for you.